President's message
Walking the talk. Our business plan in action.
Calgary has been the country’s fastest growing city for the last five years and over that time we have evolved to become western Canada’s most dynamic business centre; truly The Heart of the New West.
While we’re well positioned to continue as the growth leader, we face a number of challenges, ranging from skilled labour shortages to competition from other jurisdictions. A highly strategic economic development effort – one aligned with a broad spectrum of economic development activities of the three levels of government, the private sector and non-government organizations – is necessary to ensure the Calgary Region’s continued prosperity.
Calgary Economic Development was established in October 2002 to provide new leadership and a new direction for the Calgary Region’s economic development activities. Working with stakeholders from business, the community and government, our job is to capitalize on Calgary’s abundant energy and entrepreneurial spirit to facilitate sustainable economic growth.
The hands-on approach we’re taking is one that Calgarians will immediately recognize and understand. We’re working to facilitate the continued success and further growth of existing businesses, helping new and small businesses take the next step, and aggressively marketing the Calgary Region’s competitive advantages, pro-business climate, and superior lifestyle to attract new investment.
To accomplish this job, and get the measurable results our stakeholders expect, Calgary Economic Development has committed to a set of operating principles we believe will allow us to get the job done. Those principles are simple and straightforward: act proactively, collaboratively and responsively.
Being proactive means staying ahead of the curve, identifying future trends, issues and opportunities, and planning accordingly to maximize potential and minimize impediments. It means identifying and actively promoting key industry sectors with strong growth potential, and ensuring that Calgary remains competitive with other jurisdictions.
Being collaborative means listening to our stakeholders to ensure we’re providing the support and services that will fuel sustainable growth. It means business working with business to realize synergies and maximize resources. It means government working with business to streamline processes and reduce impediments. It means working together to achieve our common goals.
Being responsive means understanding that we’re in business for business. It means providing a single-point-of-access to services for businesses looking to expand or locate in Calgary. It means providing value-added services that meet the needs of our customers. And it means tackling the issues that impact Calgary’s ability to compete head on.
With our core team and leadership in place and ongoing efforts to strengthen relationships with key stakeholders, our rolling three-year business plan (see links below) caps our first year of operation and consultation.
Our stakeholders have told us that the time for thinking and planning is over. It’s time to walk the talk and start getting results. This plan is a strategic framework, a blueprint, which shows exactly how we’ll get those results and how we’ll measure our success.
Over the next 12 months, we’ll be focused on the execution of our plan and on monitoring our effectiveness. Our stakeholders can look forward to regular updates on what it is that we’re doing and exactly what our efforts have achieved. And we invite your comments on our activities to date.
At Calgary Economic Development, we're not only open for business. We're getting the job done.
Contact us at:
403-221-7831 or
1-888-222-5855 toll free
PDF - Highlights of our business plan.
PDF - Complete Version of our business plan. © 2003 Calgary Economic Development. All rights reserved.
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